Cabinet.



No; 670,558. Patented Mar. 26, I90].

. W. DBWNIE,

CABINET.

(Application mad In. 28, 1900.) (I6 Modal.)

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ILLIAM DOWNlE, on DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

CABINET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 670,558, dated March 26, 1901.

Application filed March 28, 1900; Serial No. 10,566- \1\lo model.)

To otZZ whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM DOWNIE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cabinets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a cabinet and file; and it consists in the construction and arrangemen t of parts hereinafter fully set forth, 7

and pointed outparticularly in the claim.

The object of the invention is to provide a file-cabinet of simple and inexpensive construction in which the arrangement is such as to hold within a comparatively small area a large number of files in such manner as to enable the withdrawal of any individual file and the replacing of any individual file within the cabinet without interfering with the remaining files and by further arrangement enabling the hinged parts of the cabinet to be folded together when it is desired to place the cabinet in a safe or vault, the files adapted to be inserted in the cabinet being of such shape as to contain in a compact manner a number of sale-slips representing purchases made by a customer at any retail store.

The above object is attained by the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of the cabinet opened, showing the files therein. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through the cabinet in the position shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through one of the parts of the cabinet, showing a plan, the files occupying the pigeonholes therein. Fig. l is an end elevation of the cabinet closed. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the files. 3 The purpose of the cabinet and files is to keep the accounts in any business, but is especially adapted for retail grocery-and meat;

so as to bring the open ends of the cabinet.

together, as shown in Fig. 4, in which position they may be secured by hooks 4:01 other suitable fastening means. Each part of the cabinet is divided into a series of pigeon holes by vertical partitions 5 and horizontal partitions 6. The vertical partitions are of considerable thickness and are formed, prefer ably, of wood. The horizontal partitions are thin and are preferably formed of suitable sheet metal. The horizontal partitions are placed close together, so that the pigeonholes formed between them are shallow in depth and of a width equal to the space between the vertical partitions and between the vertical partitions and the ends of the cabinet.

The files 7 are of such size and shape as to freely enter, the pigeonholes in the cabinet, but fill said pigeonholes snugly. Said files are made, preferably, of thin sheet metal and of such length as to project beyond the edges of the vertical and horizontal partitions, as

clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3, so that the front end of any one of the files may be easily grasped by the fingers when it is desired to withdrawthefilefromthe cabinet. Asshown in Fig. 5, the files are quadrangular and are provided with an opening through the top thereof, between the ends of the file, a portion of the top or cover of the file projecting over a corresponding portion of the bottom thereof from opposite ends, as shown at 8 and 9.

Each charge is made on a slip of paper, and the slips for the several files may be difierently numbered, as 14, 15, and 16 in Fig. 3, said slips in length being somewhat less than the length of the file. In placing a slip in the file one end of the slip is passed under the top portion 9 thereof and the slip bent so as to allow the other end to enter under the top part 8, when the stiffness of the paper will cause the slip to straighten and hold itself within the file, as it cannot be withdrawn without drawing one end or the other from under the projecting parts of the top 8 and 9. The formation of the file is such that a considerable number of slips can be placed therein, and yet saidslips are held compactly together, so that theirbulging never increases their thickness beyond the depth or thickness of the file itself, thereby enabling the file, although containing a great number of slips, to be readily inserted in any of the pigeonholes of the cabinet, because of the fact that the dimensions of the file are not changed by the number of slips contained therein. It will also be observed that the closeness with which the slips are held will too prevent them from becoming disarranged, thereby preserving them in the order in which they are filed.

There will be one file for each customer, bearing the customers name or number. When making a charge, reference is made to the customers file and the total previous charge is added to the amount of the last purchase, so that the bottom footing on the top slip in the file will always show the total charges against the customer, which amount may be readily seen by simply drawing the file partially out of the cabinet.

It will be seen that the ends 10 and 11 of the two parts of the cabinet terminate on a plane with the front or upper edges of the vertical partitions 5 and that the front or upper edges of the horizontal partitions 6 terminate on a plane with the front or upper edges of said vertical partitions. This arrangement allows the files to protrude beyond said partitions and the ends of the cabinet, so that their front ends may be grasped to withdraw the files from the case, the thickness of said vertical partitions 5 affording such space between the vertical rows of files as to allow of the insertion of the fingers for this operation.

The sides 12 and 13 of the parts of the cabinet project beyond the ends thereof and beyond the ends of the vertical and horizontal partitions and slightly beyond the ends of the files in each part or section of the cabinet, so that when said parts are folded together, as shown in Fig. 4:, the ends of said sides will abut and protect the files within the cabinet from injury.

Owing to the fact that the cabinet with its files in this system is, in efiect, a ledger, the

necessity for preserving the files and their contents from destruction is apparent. The compactness of the files and of the cabinet inwhich the files are placed is such as to allow many hundred accounts to be kept in a very small place, and when the two parts of the cabinet are folded together and secured,

as shown in Fig. 4, the file-cabinet is so small as to enable it to be readily placed in a safe or vault. When in use, the cabinet may rest upon the counter or other convenient support, the cabinet being open, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, with the outer ends of the files projecting vertically therefrom, so as to enable them to be readily grasped on opposite sides and withdrawn from the cabinet. The files are made interchangeable with respect to the pigeonholes of the cabinet, so that any file will readily fit in any of said pigeonholes.

Having thus fully set forth my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination of a cabinet and file, comprising a case composed of two sections hinged together so that when closed the open ends of the sections of the case will abut, the tops and bottoms of said sections projecting beyond the ends thereof, vertical and transverse partitions in said sections dividing them into a series of pigeonholes, said partitions terminating on a plane with the ends of said casesections and a series of files adapted to be inserted in said pigeonholes, the outer ends of said files projecting beyond the edges of the ends and of the partitions of said sections.

WILLIAM DOVVNIE.

Witnesses:

ROBERT W. BALLENTINE, J r., ELLEN FANNIE DOVVNIE. 

